Calculator · Small business

Break-Even Calculator

How many do you have to sell before you start making money? Enter your costs and find the line.

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Every product, service, or new offer has a point where it stops losing money and starts making it. This break-even calculator finds that point from three numbers you can usually estimate: your fixed costs, your selling price per unit, and your variable cost per unit. Fixed costs are the bills you pay whether you sell one unit or a thousand, such as rent, subscriptions, and insurance. Variable costs move with every sale, such as materials, packaging, payment fees, and subcontractor time. The difference between price and variable cost is the contribution each sale makes toward covering the fixed costs, and dividing fixed costs by that contribution gives the number of units you must sell to break even. Multiply by the price to get the break-even revenue. If the selling price is at or below the variable cost, there is no break-even point at all, because every sale loses money or adds nothing. Use this calculator before you launch, set a sales target, or decide whether a price cut is survivable. All calculations run in your browser and nothing is stored.

Your numbers

Formulas: Contribution = price − variable cost. Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution. Break-even revenue = units × price.

Your break-even point

— units
Break-even revenue—
Contribution per unit—
Fixed costs—
Contribution margin—

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How to use the result

  • Use break-even units as a minimum sales target — below it, the offer loses money; above it, every extra sale adds contribution as profit.
  • Use break-even revenue to check whether the target is realistic for your market and sales channels.
  • If the number looks too high, your levers are: cut fixed costs, raise the price, or cut variable costs — in that order of control.

Frequently asked questions

What if the selling price is below the variable cost?

Then there is no break-even point. Every sale loses money, so no volume can fix it. You must raise the price or cut the variable cost first.

Are fixed costs monthly or yearly?

Either, as long as you stay consistent. If fixed costs are monthly, the break-even units are per month. If they are yearly, the units are per year.

Does break-even mean profit?

No. Break-even means total revenue exactly covers total costs. Profit only starts on sales beyond the break-even point.

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